Newfound Families
by SabreSpark
Summary: A wolf, alone and severly injured. A basalisk with unknown origins. Both taken in and cared for by Fluttershy. Now they become the most unlikely family as they uncover a hidden conflict centuries old between their two races. What role will they play? Will they bring an end to all the violence? (Co-written with Shadowed Skull)
1. Chapter 1

**Exile**

The sun rose over the horizon, banishing the night and bringing forth a new day. Deep in the Everfree Forest, the first rays of dawn landed upon a pack of wolves and one in particular stood out from the rest. Slightly smaller than a timber wolf, he has a silver coat with the very tips of his hair midnight blue in color. Blue stripes run the length of his muzzle from his eyes to his nose. He slowly rose from his slumber and opened his amber-yellow eyes. This is Zeviathan, eldest son of the pack alpha Noctis.

Zev watched as the rest of the pack awoke from their slumber. The pack consisted of individuals that ranged in age from young pups to mature adults. Zev himself was on the cusp of adulthood and ready to prove himself to his father. But he still had his fears. He was nothing like the rest of the pack, never was, and they all knew it. He wasn't as inclined to violence as the others and never fought just for the sake of fighting. Whereas other wolves would spar in bouts of strength, Zev secluded himself from it. Even the color of his coat distanced him from the pack. Silver fur was not common among wolves, especially not with the additional blue tips. He stood alone in a sea of brown, tan, gray, and even black.

As if this wan't enough, Zev's past was riddled with disappointment and failure. The times he had gone hunting often gone terribly wrong, whether he alerted the prey by snapping a twig or rustling the leaves of the nearby brush. _Every _time it ended the same way-with a failed hunt and a very disappointed father. But Zev was determined to not let that happen today. He felt that today was going to a very important turning point in his life.

By this time, the rest of the pack was wide awake. The pups frolicked about, chasing each other in a never-ending cycle. Mothers kept watchful eyes on their children. Noctis was busy gathering up a group for today's hunt. Once assembled, there were seven wolves, including Zev, prepared to leave. With a mighty howl, Noctis lead the group into the forest in search of prey.

The sun beat down on Zev as he traversed the rugged landscape. He weaved in and out of the multitude of trees and vines that obscured both his vision and movement. He was hot and tired. Ahead of him, the rest of the hunting party were fairing slightly better. Yet they continued. For the past hour they had been following the trail left by a herd of deer. Their scent filled the air and acted like a compass, allowing the wolves to zero in on the deer. The trail led to a clearing a short distance away from the outskirts of the forest. It was a meadow full of flowers and butterflies. It could be described in one word: beautiful. At the center was the herd of deer, resting in the midday sun. This posed a problem to the hunters as there was no cover close enough to allow for them to sneak up undetected. So instead, the plan was to split up. Noctis and three of the group would drive the deer into the tree line where Zev and the final two would be waiting in ambush.

Now Zev was laying close to the ground concealed within the brush. He waited in anticipation, each and every fiber of his being yearning to take action. But he maintained control over himself, lest he make a mistake and compromise the entire hunt. So he continued to wait.

A sudden commotion caught his attention. His ears twitched in response. He carefully maneuvered to allow him to view what was occurring. The herd of deer was rushing straight toward the ambush area with vigor. Giving chase behind them were the rest of the wolves. The thundering of hooves echoed in his ears like the pounding of a drum. Second by second the herd drew closer. Zev knew the time was nearing. The muscles in his legs tensed in preparation for a chase. He slowly emerged from his cover in order to get a better vantage. That's when his luck changed. He was so focused on the task ahead that he failed to notice the twig in his path. A single step and the twig broke with a loud _SNAP! _The deer, now startled by the sudden noise, changed direction. Without hesitation Zev darted after them, determined to rectify his mistake.

He relentlessly pursued his quarry. His heart beat erratically and his paws ached from the constant pounding they were receiving. He was panting heavily and reaching the point of exhaustion. Fortunately he was nearing a straggler that was just within reach. With one final burst of speed he leapt. However, he misjudged the distance and ended up getting kicked in the head. He was sent flying back and impacted a tree. Zev collapsed in pain and sorrow. He had failed yet again.

He remained there recovering from the blow before slowly rising. Dazed, he stumbled back to the clearing. The others were waiting for him and they did not look happy. Noctis strode forward, his black fur ruffled and coated in dirt. His eyes radiated pure disappointment and, for the first time, great anger. His gaze burned deep into Zev's being. Noctis took one final step before issuing a long, low snarl. "Zeviathan, you have shown incompetence yet again. Your continued failure has left me with no choice. You are a hindrance to this family and must be dealt with accordingly. You, my son, are hereby banished from the pack."

Zev's heart sank at his father's words. He never expected for this to happen and certainly not for it to be his father's doing. He knew the fate of those exiled from pack life; they never survived for very long, falling to starvation or other predators. "But father…."

Another snarl "My word is final. I had high hopes for you my son." Noctis turned with the others towards home. "Do not return."

Zev followed regardless "Please father, reconsider. You don't….."

Noctis quickly turned and snapped at Zev, the fury in his eyes at its peak. "Do not take another step forward. You are no longer allowed within _my_ territory."

Still Zev continued forward, hoping beyond hope that this could be fixed. "Father…."

Noctis jumped straight for Zev, sending him to the ground. As Zev struggled to his feet, Noctis rushed forward and bit his tail. Zev howled in agony and disbelief. Noctis proceed to yank his tail and send him flying yet again. Again and again Noctis attacked Zev, biting him on the neck and legs. Zev tried to fight back but his previous exhaustion and shock left him utterly helpless against his father. All he could do was defend himself as best as possible. By the end of the assault, Zev was in bad condition. His front right paw was sprained and his tail hung limp, presumably broken. He had multiple bite marks all over his body and a nasty cut across his left eye. His coat was now half red from blood which was spilling rapidly from his wounds. Around him was a pool of blood.

Zev collapsed from exhaustion. He just watched as his father approached him. He offered no resistance as Noctis grabbed his tail and dragged him to a nearby cliff and proceeded to toss him down the thirty foot incline.

Zev impacted the cliff and rolled to the bottom. He could feel every rock and thorn that lodged into his side. He received a large gash across his stomach and opened up new injuries. By the time he reached the bottom, he was barely conscious. Still he stood up, or, as best he could. Looking behind him, he could see a trail of blood marking his slide down the cliff.

Despite his condition, he searched for any kind of help. A few minutes later and Zev was fairing poorly. He was losing blood rapidly and near the point of no return. Each step was excruciatingly painful on his sprained paw despite the carefulness of his steps. A few steps later and he was at his end; he collapsed.

As he lay there, he recalled some of the nicer times of his life. One in particular brought a smile to his face. It was the last time he ever saw his sister Crystal.

…**...**

A much younger Zeviathan and another wolf, around two years younger, were happily playing in the very same clearing where Zev was attacked by his father. It was bright and sunny and cheerful. Numerous butterflies of varying colors fluttered about.

Zev was busy fleeing from the other wolf, his expression conveying happiness. "Come on Crystal, you have to do better than that."

Crystal was slightly smaller than Zev by a few inches and was more lean in her build. She had a snow-white coat and deep-violet eyes. She ran after him, the same cheery mood her brother had mirrored on her face. "I'm trying big brother but your just so fast."

He held in a chuckle "You can do it Crystal, I know you can."

Crystal, encouraged by her brother's words, sped up and pounced on his back, sending them both crashing to the ground in a fit of giggles. "I did it, I did it!"

Zev smiled at his younger sister before nuzzling her affectionately "I knew you could." He got down on his knees and motioned for Crystal to climb on his back "Climb up, there's something I want to show you."

After climbing aboard and making sure she had a secure grip, Crystal asked, "Where are we going big brother?"

He responded with a smile, "You'll see"

She responded with a humph and a simple, "fine."

Zev carried his sister to part of the forest she had never seen. The grass was lush and green, the trees sturdy and tall. A small river ran by before falling over a ledge forming a miniature waterfall. By this time the sun was setting. The sky was now bathed in a palette of orange, yellow, and red. The sun was reflected in the water, distorted by ripples but still magnificent in appearance. Crystal was absolutely stunned by the beauty of this place. "This place is amazing," she expressed.

Zev nodded his head agreement, "I know. I discovered this area only recently and decided to share it with you, the best sister I could ever hope for."

She smiled gratefully at her brother and embraced him. "Thank you, you're the best brother I could ever hope for."

"Thank you Crystal, I'll make sure always be there for you no matter what. I'll never let anything happen to you, ever. I promise."

"I know you will big brother. You're the greatest."

The two siblings sat side by side watching as the sun continued to descend.

…**...**

Zev was in tears at the memory, both happy and sad. He couldn't remember a time he was happier then he was at that moment. But his sister….Crystal…she had gone missing. No one knew how or why just that she was gone. His only sister….gone. The worst part was that he had broken his promise to always look out for her. That guilt was more painful than any wound he had ever received. Now he lay here dying. He was suffering not only from the physical damage but also the mental strife that has built up over the years: his shortcomings and failures with the pack, his broken promise to his sister, and, more recently, his exile by his own father. A cold feeling ran all along his body now and he was slowly losing the fight to remain conscious. His eyesight began to fail and blackness slowly obscured his vision. As he slipped from the world his last thoughts were of all that had transpired in his life and how many he had failed. _Father, Crystal…I'm sorry. _The last thing he saw was a yellow blur heading for him as he finally faded into unconsciousness.


	2. Chapter 2

**Keep sending in the reviews, me and Shadowed really appreciate it. Now on with chapter 2. **

**All thanks goes to Shadowed Skull himself for creating this chapter. **

* * *

**The Hatching**

Fluttershy was just walking through the forest, enjoying nature and playing with some cute critters, when she heard the high pitched whine. "Oh dear, that sounded like a critter got hurt! Oh I hope they're all right." she said to herself in barely audible voice as she galloped towards the distressed animal.

After a short time, Fluttershy found the critter who sounded in pain, but it was no critter. A medium sized wolf lay before her, unconscious, bloody, and gravely injured. Fluttershy hadn't seen many wolves before but she could tell this one was unique, mainly due to the blue in its fur and the stripes along it's snout. "Oh my goodness, what happened?" Fluttershy said, the motherly she had towards all animals rising to the fore.

Fluttershy could see some immediate injuries, a gash along the face, multiple bite marks, and several other things. She knew that if the wolf stayed here without help it would most surely succumb to its injuries. So, with great difficulty and a lot of rearranging, Fluttershy managed to get the silver colored wolf onto her back. She may not have been the strongest pony in Ponyville, but she was determined to help this poor creature.

Struggling all the way, Fluttershy eventually made it back to her cottage. She slowly made her way upstairs and into a spare room she kept, carefully laying the injured wolf down. Fluttershy was exhausted, she didn't normally carry wolves out of the forest and the exertion was taking effect. "Can't rest now, I have to bandage him up..." she said fighting back the urge to stop and rest.

She found her medical kit downstairs and set about patching up the wolf, stopping the bleeding, disinfecting the wounds, and stitching the gash along his face closed. "There we go, you're all patched up now Mr. Wolf!" Fluttershy said to her self happily.

Now that her job was done, Fluttershy took a closer look at her new house guest. She noticed first off that he wasn't too big, about the same size as herself, and the blue in his coat was striking. She eventually found herself once again looking at the striped muzzle.

She carefully lifted one of his eyelids to check for pupil change, but was slightly unnerved by the amber eye that stared back. Suddenly the pupil shrank to a pinpoint, the iris taking almost the entire eye and producing a frightened squeak from Fluttershy. Fluttershy immediately felt a sharp pain in her head followed by more in various places around her body as if she was being bitten, and then it was gone just as quickly.

Fluttershy let the now normal looking eye close and placed a blanket over the unconscious wolf before backing out of the room. She made her way downstairs and tried to calm her nerves. "It's okay Fluttershy, he's just a wolf, an unconscious wolf. He can't hurt you, he can't hurt you..." she said, her nerves still on edge.

"Fluttershy! Are you there?" yelled somepony from outside. "Eeep!" screeched Fluttershy as she jumped up and hugged a beam on the ceiling upside down. "Come... come in." said the yellow pegasus, too nervous to let go of the beam.

A familiar lavender unicorn opened the door and walked in looking around for her friend. "Fluttershy? Where are you?" "Up... up here Twilight." whispered Fluttershy from her hiding place on the ceiling. "There you are Fluttershy, but what are you doing up there?" asked Twilight as she used her magic to gently place her friend down on the ground. "Sorry about that Twilight, I guess I'm just a little nervous. Did you need something?" Fluttershy asked apologetically. "Yes, I was hoping you could explain why Rainbow Dash said she saw you with a wolf on your back!" exclaimed Twilight, worry for her friend evident in her voice.

"Oh... umm, you see, I... I was just walking in the woods when I heard a whine. It sounded like a critter was in pain so I went to look for it. When I did find the hurt animal, it wasn't a little critter like I thought, he was hurt really badly so I decided to bring him here so I could help him. That's all." answered Flutershy, leaving out the part when she looked at its eye. Twilight just eyed her friend warily, still concerned. "Okay," sighed Twilight "so long as you have this under control. We don't need a wild wolf running around town." "Well, actually... could you maybe lend me a hoof? I don't know a whole lot on wolves." Fluttershy said sheepishly.

Twilight just sighed, resigning herself to her fate. "Okay, where is it and I'll tell you what I can." she said in an exasperated tone. Fluttershy just perked up at the news and smiled at her friend, "Oh, thank you Twilight! Follow me, he's upstairs." Fluttershy said as she led Twilight to the unconscious wolf's room. "He lost a bit of blood and had a lot of bite marks when I found him. I bandaged him up as well as I could, but I don't know what else to do besides let him rest." Fluttershy opened the door and a gasp escaped from her friend.

"I've... I've never read about any wolf like this before." Twilight said looking over the silver fur mixed with dark blue and the striped muzzle. "I don't even know if wolves are meant to have just silver-colored fur, let alone with all this blue." "Well, is he at least all right?" Fluttershy asked with genuine concern. Twilight, still slightly uncomfortable with the idea of her friend caring for a wolf, answered "Yes, he looks fine. But please Fluttershy, once he's healed, bring him back out into the woods."

"Don't worry Twilight, I'll make sure he gets back home just fine!" Fluttershy stated proudly, "Thanks again for all your help!" "Just be careful Fluttershy, please?" asked Twilight as she walked out the door. "Cross my heart, hope to fly, stick a cupcake in my eye." She Pinkie Promised, performing the required movements as Twilight walked back into town.

It had been a couple of hours since Twilight had left, and Fluttershy was in the kitchen making some soup. Humming a little tune to herself Fluttershy poured some of the finished broth into a bowl and went upstairs to the sleeping form of the wolf. She caught herself once again pondering the strangeness of the fur. Shaking the thought from her mind, Fluttershy set about trying to get the fresh soup down the wolf's throat, but to no avail.

"Come on Mr. Wolf, you need to eat to get better." she said, hoping her encouraging tone would somehow help. And much to her surprise and relief, it did. His eyes opened partially as a groaning whine escaped throat. He snapped up suddenly, whipping his head back and forth before resting his amber eyes on Fluttershy.

Zeviathan had a dull feeling of pain running throughout his body, every bit of him ached. He could barely feel his tail, but he could feel pressure placed around his torso and his muzzle no longer stung. He managed to open his eyes just a crack, the effort of finally waking drawing a groan from him. He looked around, not really paying attention to anything. But when he did take heed of his surroundings he snapped up immediately, albeit painfully, and swung his head every which way to take in the strange environment he was in.

That's when he saw the yellow and pink creature before him, faintly remembering something similar before falling unconscious. He rested his gaze on the creature before him, 'Where am I?' Zeviathan wondered to himself. He attempted to move forward, but yelped from the pain it caused him and fell back down pitifully. The creature rushed over and caught him before he hit the ground. "Easy now Mr. Wolf, you've been through a lot I'm sure. My name is Fluttershy." it cooed softly, placing him down gently.

Zeviathan looked at the creature called Fluttershy and thought 'Thank you'. A look of shock came upon Fluttershy's face, "You're… you're welcome." she stuttered slightly. Now it was Zeviathan's turn to be puzzled, 'You, can hear me?' he asked in his mind, to which Fluttershy nodded. 'What are you?' he asked, slightly dumbfounded. "I'm a Pegasus, but I can't normally hear animal's thoughts." she responded apparently just as befuddled as himself. "But here, eat this. It should help a little bit." Fluttershy said pushing the bowl of soup towards him "It's soup, now you just try to rest, I need to go do something but I'll be back really soon." 'Thank you again, Fluttershy. My name is Zeviathan, by the way.' he thought, causing a smile to flash on Fluttershy's face before she left out the door.

Fluttershy walked along a dirt path leading through the Everfree Forest, careful not to touch the Poison Joke that littered the sides. She was on her way to Zecora's hut in hopes that she might be able to help with that wolf Zeviathan. She found the tree hut soon enough, the lights and smoke spilling from the knarled trunk an easy give-away.

Fluttershy was about to knock on the door when it opened, Zecora greeting her warmly "Hello my good friend, what brings you out here towards this day's end?"

"Well, you see, earlier today I found a wolf and he was really badly injured, so I brought him back home and bandaged him up. At one point I was going to check for light respones so I lifted an eyelid, but when I did the pupil shrank to a really small dot. Now I'm hearing his thoughts." she explained quietly. Zecora nodded her head thoughtfully, "Hmmm, I will search my books for what I can find, for this wolf seems to have one special mind." she said in her rhyming fashion.

Fluttershy looked slightly downcast at the news, she had hoped for an answer immediately. But she understood that this was a really strange turn of events and it could be hard to pinpoint what may be causing this. So she bid Zecora a soft goodbye and thank you and started her journey back through the mysterious Everfree.

No sooner than five minutes into her walk back, she noticed something had changed. There, in the middle of the dirt path, rested a glistening dark stone. 'That certainly wasn't there before...' she thought, carefully approaching the rock. She felt drawn to it, to protect it like a mother bird would an egg, like it was alive and helpless. 'It's still something from the Everfree, just like that parasprite.' Fluttershy thought stubbournly, yet despite her best judgement she picked it up and continued on her way.

After finally making her way back home, Fluttershy gently placed the stone on the couch, despite its size the stone was fairly heavy. Sneaking her way upstairs, she opened the door to Zeviathan's room just a crack. He was fast asleep and the bowl of soup empty, bringing a smile once more to Fluttershy's face. She quietly picked the bowl up and went back downstairs, but when she got there, the bowl dropped to the floor with a clunck.

The smooth, glistening stone that once rested on the couch was broken, shattered and cracked in thin pieces like a shell. "Oh dear oh dear oh dear, what happened!?" Fluttershy cried, frantically looking around the room. Her answer came when she looked at the fireplace, for laying in front of it was a full grown snake, white as marble, staring at her.

It slowly made its way over to her strangely though, instead of slithering on the ground, it kept its head high in the air moving it forward first then followed by the main body. As it got closer Fluttershy could see that it had deep green irises, which seemed to hold her in place, she could even see small sharpened teeth along with the fangs. But when it was right in front of her, it did something completely unexpected. The snake seemed to smile, then proceed to curl up at her hooves, completly content.

It took Fluttershy a moment to piece it all together. The stone she found in the forest was broken, and here was a strange snake laying at her hooves without a care in the world. She had to be certain, leaning down her head, Fluttershy whispered "Hey there little guy, this may seem a bit strange, but you wouldn't happen to think I'm your mother, would you?" Only for the serpent to look up with what could only be described as a smile and say "Mother." in a warm voice before laying back down.

Fluttershy, though, was terrified.


	3. Chapter 3

**I apologize for the long wait and thank you all for your patience. I was suffering from a bit of writers block. Thankfully, Shadow came to the rescue and helped bring about this chapter. Now, on with the story!**

* * *

**Confrontation and Exploration**

Fluttershy took several steps back, fear driving her as she tried to get away from the snake who merely slithered closer. Fluttershy backed up as far as she could before her back was against the wall. "P-please s-stay back," she pleaded as she closed her eyes. After a few seconds of nothing happening, she opened her eyes to see that the snake had stopped. But something was different. Where he once had a happy expression, he now wore a look of pure sorrow. His head was downcast and his eyes betrayed pain and sadness.

Fluttershy, her fear momentarily forgotten, looked upon the snake with pity. She feared that she had somehow hurt the poor thing. 'Oh dear,' she thought to herself, 'the poor thing looks like it's on the verge of tears and it's all because of me.' The more she observed the snake, the more she knew she had to do something. Her motherly concern took over as she approached the downcast serpent. With a gentle voice she asked, "Are you okay little one? Please don't be sad, I didn't mean to upset you. I was just startled, that's all."

The snake looked up to see Fluttershy with a concerned look. Her words alleviated his worries and brought a small smile back on his face.

Fluttershy responded with smile of her own. She loved nothing more than to see all animals happy, and this snake was no different. Said snake was once again slithering towards her, but this time she did not back away. He rubbed his head affectionately on her leg. "You really think I'm your mother don't you," Fluttershy asked. He stopped what he was doing and looked directly into her cerulean eyes. "Mother," he confirmed with a nod.

Fluttershy was both excited and shocked to hear this. Sure she had taken care of many animals and befriended many of them, but this was something entirely different. 'Oh what should I do,' she asked herself. 'I can't just leave the poor thing to fend for itself, especially when I don't know where his parents are but I just don't know if I could properly take care of him like his real mother could.' She looked as he proceeded to slither around her home. 'Look at him, he looks so happy.' In that instant, She knew what she had to do.

She walked over and the snake stopped what he was doing to watch. She calmly asked, "Would you like to stay here little one," she asked. He responded with an enthusiastic nod and started slithering in a figure eight. A sign of happiness maybe?

Fluttershy giggled at his antics. "You certainly seem happy. I'm glad." She watched as he continued. "You also slither around in the most interesting of ways."

The snake perked up at the mention of slithering and tried to repeat it. "Slith..Slith…Slithe.." He tried again, "Slithe….Sithe." He frowned in disappointment.

"That's okay little one," Fluttershy said, "It was a good try. I'm sure you'll get it eventually." Then she thought of something that hadn't occurred to her-he had no name. She asked, "little one, I just realized that you don't have a name. Do you know what you want it to be?"

He pondered this for a moment. At first he was uncertain, but one name stood out to him immediately. "Slithe," he answered with certainty. He couldn't explain why, but the name just felt right.

Fluttershy was thinking much the same thing. "That's a lovely name," she expressed, "I'm Fluttershy."

"Fluttershy," Slithe repeated. She smiled warmly before she remembered about Zeviathan and how she had resolved to speak with his pack about their behavior towards him. "Okay Slithe, there's something I need to do and I want you to stay here. Can you do that?" He responded with a nod and watched as Fluttershy walked outside and closed the door behind her.

* * *

Fluttershy soon found herself at the entrance to the Everfree Forest. She knew she needed to enter but it was hard to bring herself to do it. It just wasn't natural how things worked in that forest. Despite having ventured there in the past, she was still terrified of the place, and that lingering fear kept her from taking the first step.

Then her thoughts drifted back to the injured wolf in her home. That was definitely _not _an accident. When she had examined Zeviathan and felt the sharp pain in her mind, she also glimpsed fragmented memories that were not her own. They had to belong to Zeviathan because she could see how he was turned on and attacked by his pack. At first she had pushed these memories aside, focusing all her attention on helping soothe his injuries. Now that he was stable, she was going to have a few words with his pack. She had to find out why this happened.

With renewed determination, Fluttershy plunged into the darkness of the forest. A while later she found herself in an unfamiliar clearing. The atmosphere was far from welcoming. A sense of danger hung in the air. A breeze picked up and left Fluttershy shaking from the cold blast of air. With it came a drawn out howl and the appearance of several wolves who appeared almost out of thin air. They were followed by another who walked slowly out of the shadows. Fluttershy gasped as she recognized this particular wolf as the one that had attacked Zeviathan. Same pitch black fur, same aggressive aura, same challenging eyes.

The wolf stopped three feet in front of Fluttershy then asked, "Why have you trespassed onto our territory outsider?"

Fluttershy, intimidated by the beast in front of her, quietly stammered, "W-well I-I came here t-to…to…." She trailed off.

"I do not take kindly to trespassers upon my home and I am rapidly losing my patience.," He warned, "Now, speak your reason for your intrusion or I will run you out of here myself."

Fluttershy spoke slightly louder but continued to stutter "I-I recently f-found an injured wolf a-and took h-him back to m-my home to he-help him."

"Did this wolf happen to have a blue striped muzzle?"

Fluttershy nodded.

"I see. You found my worthless son. Though why you decided to take care of him is beyond me; he is unfit to live."

"Wh-what," She couldn't believe what she was hearing, "h-he's your s-son and y-you att-attacked him?"

The wolf snarled, "He is no longer my son and he deserved what he got."

Fluttershy felt the anger build. She could hold back no longer and let it all burst forth. "How could you!? Zeviathan nearly died because of you! I don't care what your reasons are there is absolutely no excuse for this. Your own son…..No, not your son; he's too good to be your son. You are the most despicable animal I have ever dealt with. You should be ashamed of what you have done!"

The wolf was unfazed. "I do not care what you think of me or what I have done; I don't need your approval. I will lead as I see fit." He glared at her, "Now leave and never return!" He walked back into the forest along with the others.

Fluttershy stood where she was, still furious with that wolf's behavior. She took deep breaths in an attempt to calm herself. When she had cooled down she turned and headed home, thinking about what would become of Zeviathan.

* * *

_With Slithe..._

Soon after Fluttershy left Slithe grew restless. He looked around the cottage, everywhere was something new for him to investigate, something new for him to explore. But there was something his gaze rested on that drew his attention the most, the window and the world beyond. That was what he decided to explore.

He looked around for someway to get out, only to see a hole in the wall of the cottage. When he got closer Slithe saw that it was just big enough for him to squeeze through. Slithe, after he finally made it out, looked around the vast expanse of the meadow. As he took stock of the new area, a high-pitched noise caught his attention. Looking up Slithe saw a rainbow streak zooming across the sky, off and away.

Following the stream of colors, Slithe soon arrived at a busy looking town. Keeping between buildings, Slithe saw something new everywhere he looked, each new place spurring him to explore further. Eventually he came to a tall, circular building with ornate designs covering every inch. Fascinated, Slithe made his way to an open side window and, using his body like a spring, went straight through the opening.

The first thing that caught Slithe's attention was the platform towards the center, but just as he reached it voices sounded from another room. Thinking quickly, Slithe dove into a nearby pile of loose fabrics. "Applejack, I beg you, just let me fix the stitching. You won't be able to see a single difference." "Rarity, ah've told ya before and ah'll tell ya again, mah saddlebag is just fine."

Slithe just stayed hidden in the fabric, watching the two new mares and rolling the new words around in his head. "Fine, but at least, AAAHHHH! A SNAKE! FILTHY CREATURE!" shouted the one called Rarity. Slithe hadn't even noticed the fabrics lift up and away, revealing him entirely. Slithe looked at the two mares, Rarity was backing away with fear while the one called Applejack cautiously approached him.

"Hey there now lil' critter, you just stay right there..." she said calmly. Slithe looked around for someway out, but the only way was through the same window he entered, now blocked by the orange mare. Finally coming to a decision, Slithe took a a breath, looked her in the eyes and said "Critter." That seemed to do the trick as both Applejack and Rarity stopped what they were doing and looked at him, shocked.

Seizing his chance Slithe bolted under Applejack, leapt out the window, and fled the building with the two mares now in pursuit. He frantically searched for another place to hide, the closest thing being a place made of sweet looking stuff. As he reached the open door Slithe looked back to see a rainbow-maned pegasus chasing him as well. So without a thought Slithe went inside to hide.

Applejack, Rarity, and Rainbow Dash sped into the Sugarcube Corner and started frantically searching for that white snake "Hey girls, what's wrong?" asked Twilight, who was just enjoying a cupcake before the dramatic entrance. "Rarity and I were talkin' when we found a snake in her shop. When ah' tried to catch the varmit it went and got away. We chased it all the way here and now we can't find it!" Applejack explained as she shook her head in disbelief "Well I havn't seen it here, you could ask Pinkie but she's..." At this point she was interrupted by a loud "Eeep!" followed by a frantic Pinkie Pie jumping from the kitchen yelling "Run for your lives! There's a giant snake!" as she seemed to run in mid-air. Twilight used her magic to bring Pinkie to the ground and keep her from running away, "Snakes don't normally come into places like this, come on girls, I want to get a better look at this snake." she said, calmly walking into the bakery's kitchen.

Slithe was now very frightened, and taken completely by surprise by the loud pink mare hadn't helped his dilemma. He could hear them talking in the next room, no doubt about him. He looked about for another way out, only to find himself in yet another dead end. He looked at the doorway in time to see the mares from before plus the pink one and now a lavender colored one as well. Seeing them enter, Slithe dove behind a nearby counter with his heart racing. The one called Applejack spoke first, "There's the darned critter, hidin' behind the counter." she said taking a step forward.

The lavender mare stopped her "Applejack, wait. Let me try a stun spell on it." she said as the horn on her head started to glow. Slithe peaked around the corner of his cover and watched in awe as a purple aura surrounded the horn and a wave of it washed over him. Slithe didn't know why, but he suddenly found it harder to think and move, much to the surprise of the lavender mare.

"What?!" she exclaimed with surprise "How is it even still up after that? That particular spell will normally put a full grown manticore out for hours!" The mare looked to her companions for an answer but found none, "Ah just don't know Twilight, but that ain't a normal snake ah'll tell ya that..." said Applejack.

The mare Twilight slowly made her way towards him, even as Slithe backed away and the room became slightly fuzzy. Twilight just eyed him curiously, looking him over. Seeing a similar answer to a similar problem as before, Slithe did his best to look at Twilight as she kept getting closer. When she was almost right in front of him Slithe reared up his head to be on level with her, to her continuing surprise, and said "Ssstunn."

Twilight was taken aback by his speech, nearly falling backwards in surprise as the blue flying pegasus's eyes bulged. Twilight gathered enough of her wits to speak "It can speak?!" she exclaimed, turning to the group. "You didn't tell me it could speak!" seizing his chance, Slithe managed to stumble away as the mares started arguing amongst themselves.

Slithe now found it increasingly harder to focus as he started to see doubles of everything around him. Fleeing through the middle of the town he ran into dozens of different ponies and sent them running, terrified. As he stumbled into street venders and their stalls, Slithe took a quick glance around to try and gather his dulled senses. Turning his head around he quickly ducked out of the way of a speeding blur of rainbow headed straight for him.

With no need for any more encouragement, Slithe took off once again towards his home. Dodging frightened ponies, stalls, and other debris, Slithe eventually made it back to the meadow he first saw upon leaving on his adventure. He thankfully saw his mother just opening the door and despite his further increased dizziness, rushed past her and inside. "Slithe?! What were doing outside?" asked Fluttershy, motherly concern breaking through.

Slithe didn't answer her, to frightened, and quickly slid up onto an exposed beam protruding from the ceiling to hide. Fluttershy just looked up at him, "Slithe? What's wrong?" she asked. Fluttershy jumped in surprise as the door slammed open as the rest of the girls rushed in. "Fluttershy, are you alright? We saw a white snake we've been chasing run in here, it might be dangerous." Twilight asked with concern as she started looking around.

"Well, umm, I'm fine. Thank you for asking." she answered quietly, trying to keep them all from noticing Slithe. But Rarity, not wanting to get too disheveled, stood off to the side underneath the very beam Slithe was on. And just as Rarity stopped right under it Slithe started to sway side to side, suddenly dropping from the beam onto Rarity who let out a scream of fright.

"AH! Somepony help me! This foul creature is ruining my mane!" she shrieked. Before the others could get to him, and with some slightly surprising speed, Fluttershy lifted the now unconscious Slithe off of her friend and cradled him in her forelegs like a foal. "Fluttershy, what are you doing?! That snake is dangerous!" Twilight exclaimed as she took a step forward, only for Fluttershy to move back. "It's okay Twilight, he isn't dangerous, just curious," responded Fluttershy "Girls, I'd like you all to meet Slithe." They all took a look at the sleeping serpent, who now only emitted a quiet snore


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey everyone! Me and Shadow are super, super, SUPER, sorry about leaving you hanging like that. I hope you can forgive us. Maybe presenting you with the latest chapter will help? Yes? No? Maybe? **

**Leave a review and tell us how you feel.**

* * *

**The Truth Unveiled**

The girls looked between eachother before Rainbow Dash gave an uneasy luagh, "Haha haha, that was a pretty funny joke Flutters. Acting like that snake is your pet, classic. He..." But nopony else was laughing, especially Fluttershy.

"This isn't a joke Rainbow Dash, and he isn't a pet," Fluttershy sat down and started rocking the sleeping Slithe in her forelegs. "Now Fluttershy, ah' know you like all yer animals an' what not, but why are ya actin like that snake's a baby? It looks pretty darn grown to me," Applejack said, pointing to Slithe for emphasis. Fluttershy just looked down and away before she mumbled something to soft for any of them to hear.

"What was that sugarcube?" Applejack continued. "Ahm 'fraid ah couldn't hear ya."

"I-I said that, ummm... He... is only a baby. He only hatched this morning," the timid pegasus just kept rocking and cooing at the serpent. The rest of the girls looked at eachother as if to confirm what they all thought, Fluttershy was crazy.

Twilight stepped up closer, "Fluttershy, you don't really expect us to believe that snake-" "Slithe" Fluttershy interrupted, before realizing what she did and looked back down. "This... Slithe, hatched only this morning, do you?"

"The pieces of the shell are still around the couch, if you want to look that is..." Fluttershy nodded towards the other side of the room. Deciding to humor Fluttershy's obviously crazy thoughts, Twilight went over and, to her surprise, found the shell fragments to be much larger then they should for a snake's. They seemed more the size of a large chicken egg, but with a stone-like exterior.

"Fluttershy?" she asked. "Where did you find this Slithe as an egg?"

Fluttershy looked even more sheepish than normal when asked the question, because she knew her friends wouldn't like the answer. "Well, umm, I found his egg, but it didn't look like an egg, sort of,on my way back... from, Zecora's hut? In the Everfree Forest?" She answered this last bit more like a question, hoping her friends wouldn't get too upset.

Silence once again descended upon the group, everypony letting Fluttershy's words sink in. Twilight was the first to snap out of her daze. Question after question came to mind, like_ 'what was this egg doing in the middle of the Everfree Forest?'_ and _'where were its parents?'_ "Fluttershy, do y-" "**What were you thinking Fluttershy**," Rainbow Dash interrupted, voicing her concern, **"It could be dangerous!"** She glared angrily at Slithe, as if sending a telepathic message to the sleeping serpent. _Don't. Even. Think. About. Trying. To. Hurt. My. Friends!_

"Darling, I simply must agree with Rainbow here," Rarity began, "we simply know nothing about him."

Fluttershy looked away in shame. Her friends did raise a good point. Even she had to admit that there was an unknown about Slithe. There was still so much that she didn't know. _'Maybe he is a dangerous mons-NO! Stop thinking like that Fluttershy, he's just a cute, little hatchling. He's good, I know he Is.'_ Fluttershy looked back at her friends who were alternating between staring at her and the snake in her hooves. Knowing that they still held distrust for Slithe, Fluttershy spoke up, hoping to calm their nerves. "Um…girls…I-I know you think Slithe here is dangerous…but he's not. He's only a hatchling after all and he needs help. I couldn't just leave the poor thing out there to fend for himself."

Twilight moved her gaze from Slithe to Fluttershy. "That's a kind and noble action Fluttershy, and I know how you love helping animals, but don't you think this could be a mistake? What if it's parents come looking for it. They might not take to kindly to having their egg taken."

"Well…um, I-I don't really…"

"Yeah," Rainbow flared her wings, "did you think this through AT All!?"

"Y-yes…I me-mean no… I mean, mean…." Fluttershy trailed off again, faltering under her friends obvious disapproval. She was shaking with sadness.

Applejack, who, despite her own feelings toward the whole situation, took notice of Fluttershy's quaking and felt she needed to speak up. "Uh, girls…Ah think we'd best simmer down now, for Fluttershy's sake." The cowmare walked up to the shy mare and placed a hoof on her shoulder. "It's alrigh' Sugarcube. We understand ya were just doin' what ya felt ya had to; there's no shame in that. We're jus' concerned for your well-bein' is all." Applejack waited while she composed herself, backing off to give her space.

Slowly, but surely, Fluttershy stopped shaking and looked up at her friends. "Th-thank you Applejack." The cowmare smiled and bowed her head in acknowledgement. "Not a problem Sugarcube. We're all a might sorry for yellin' like that," she glanced over at the others who were quick to throw in their own apologies. "It's alright girls, you were just worried. I forgive you." This earned a smile from everypony. "Still, I'm sorry for yelling at you like that Fluttershy," Twilight voiced, still feeling the guilt. " I kind of overreacted and got carried away. I know you can't help but aid all animals and I see know that it isn't as bad as I first thought. Like you said, he did hatch just this morning and could probably use your help. I trust you'll take care of him and then return him to the Everfree."

Fluttershy took pause at this, unsure of how to tell them that she didn't really want to give Slithe up. "Umm…actually Twilight…I…" A small yawn interrupted her attempted explanation and caught everypony's attention. The yawn in question had come from Slithe, now awake and looking around. He soon caught sight of a group of mares, the very same group that had chased him around the town. He slinked back surprise, but also something else…a slight bit of fear perhaps? Yes, it was definitely fear. Slithe was afraid of them and what they might do to him. He backed as far as he could before realizing he was not on the ground. Instead he was on something…soft? He looked up and saw the concerned face of his mother looking down at him. He was in her forelegs! He quickly snuggled up to her, hoping she would keep him safe.

Fluttershy just held him close, telling him everything will be alright. She didn't know why Slithe was so afraid but cast aside her curiosity to comfort the frightened serpent in her embrace. "Mother," she heard him call out. She felt a certain exhilaration when he called her this. It was the same feeling she got when he first called her mother. Her only response to this was to hold him even closer, letting him know that he was safe.

Of course, this didn't go unnoticed by her friends. A collective "What" was resonated throughout the cottage. They weren't quite sure what to think. "Pardon me Fluttershy, but did that snake just call you his mother?" Fluttershy nodded and replied, "Yes Rarity, he did. I umm…I was actually thinking about raising him myself…you know, like a…son."

Four voices rang out louder than before. **"WHAT?!"**

_Meanwhile…_

Zeviathan was sound asleep upstairs. His form rising and falling with his rhythmic breathing. Fluttershy had done an amazing job in treating his injuries. His sprained paw was now set in a splint. The long gash on his stomach was wrapped up with multiple layers of gauze. All his minor scratches and bruises had been treated and bandaged and would heal fairly quickly. He was, however, missing the occasional patch of fur-a result of the bite marks he had received thanks to his father. The white bandages were also stained crimson from the blood. Dried blood caked his fur, adding to his weakened appearance. Still, all things considered, Zeviathan was in a much better condition than before. The wounds would heal with time and his fur would grow back.

He held much gratitude for the yellow mare that had helped him. Thanks to her, he knew he would be okay. She acted very…motherly. Yes, that was the perfect word to describe her. It warmed Zeviathan's heart to think of Fluttershy like that, as someone who really cared for him. She made him feel complete. With that happy thought and the calm serenity that accompanied the room he was in, Zeviathan had soon drifted off into a much needed rest.

**"WHAT?!"**

Zeviathan woke with a start, senses alert. His ears twitched, listening for the possible source of the outburst. There. He could hear faint voices that drifted up from the first floor of the cottage. He sniffed at the air and confirmed that there was indeed someone else here. In addition to Fluttershy's scent, there were a few other aromas that he was not familiar with.

Slowly, as to not aggravate his injuries, he stood up and headed toward the stairs. The splint on his paw made walking a little awkward, but he could manage. As he descended the stairs, the voices only got louder. It sounded like…arguing? Zeviathan couldn't tell but there was defiantly anger in the voices he heard. Finally, he passed the final step and was on the first floor. He cautiously rounded the next turn and entered the living room only to discover Fluttershy, who was still holding Slithe, shying away from the other mares in the room.

Zeviathan quickly assessed the group in front of him. They all looked like Fluttershy, but different. They either had wings, horns, or neither. They didn't look like a threat, but he couldn't be certain. "Better safe than sorry," he thought to himself. It was only when one of the ponies, the one with wings and rainbow mane, yelled right in Fluttershy's face did Zeviathan feel his anger rise. He would not let anyone hurt her, especially after all that she had done for him. He let loose a deep, guttural growl and snarled at Rainbow Dash. It was a challenge to the winged one. He might be injured but that didn't mean he couldn't fight.

Up to that point, nopony had noticed the arrival of the silver wolf; all their attention was fixed squarely on Fluttershy and Slithe. The sudden growl drew everypony's attention to the wolf that was now in the room. All their eyes were wide in surprise at the new arrival. Fluttershy was quick to act, her instincts taking over as concern for the injured wolf grew. "Zeviathan, what are you doing? You should still be upstairs resting."

'I'm fine, I assure you. I was awoken by the loud yelling and came to investigate.' Zeviathan shifted his gaze towards the group before him. 'Who are they? It looked like that rainbow one was threatening you.'

'Oh, no. She wasn't threatening me. These are my friends. There's Rainbow Dash, Applejack, Rarity, Twilight, and Pinkie Pie.' Fluttershy was unaware that she had switched to communicating with her mind.

'If you say so, but I will be watching them...' Zev kept his gaze on the other creatures. 'If they make any moves againt you, I will stop them.'

*POV SWITCH*

The girls all looked from the silver wolf to Fluttershy, "Is that the wolf you carried out of the forest?" Twilight kept her gaze on the wolf. Fluttershy, now realizing how she was communicating, turned towards her friends. "Oh, umm, yes... he's not dangerous though. So long as you don't act threatening, if that's not too much to ask..." Rainbow Dash, in her frustration, didn't pay any mind to her friend's warning.

Quickly flying over to Zeviathan, she started mouthing off to him. "This beat up piece of fuzz? Please, he looks like he got the snot beat out of him. What did it, that rabbit Angel of your's?" she gave his head a couple of knocks to drive her point hom. "Rainbow Dash, he doesn't like that... can you please stop?" Fluttershy tried to reason with her friend, but to no avail.

"Whatever," she flew circles around the injured wolf. "I could totally take this chump on even when it's in peak conditi- Whaa!" In the midst of her frustrated bullying, Rainbow Dash was pinned down by the wolf she was just lording over. Everypony gasped as Zeviathan kept his good paw on her chest and let out a menacing growl. "Zeviathan, please don't!" Fluttershy held her hooves close to her face from her gasp.

None of them noticed Slithe had slipped out of Fluttershy's forelegs until he was on Zeviathan's back. Feeling the serpent on his back, Zeviathan paused and looked up. Slithe had his head hanging over in front Zeviathan's face, what appeared to be a smile on his face.

Zeviathan had even less of an idea what to make of this creature, but he wasn't prepared for it to rub its head against his own before Rainnbow Dash pushed the paw off her chest and zipped off far out of the wolf's reach.

As Rainbow Dash skulked from her wounded pride, Fluttershy quickly stepped between her friends and Zeviathan. There was a mounting tension in the room after that little fiasco and Fluttershy didn't want anyone getting hurt.

"Fluttershy, it might be best if yall moved sugar." Applejack was staring straight at the wolf who just attacked her friend. Fluttershy however, didn't move. "Now, now everyone, there's ummm... there's no need to get rough, right?" she tried to be confident, but it wasn't very convincing. "Fluttershy, as much as I am appalled towards violence, that beast did attack Rainbow Dash." Rarity tried getting her timid friend to move, but she continued not to budge.

"He's not a beast Rarity, poor Zeviathan is just hurt. And well, she was being rather antagonizing... sorry Rainbow Dash." Fluttershy stood by Zeviathan and softly lifted Slithe off his back. "Fluttershy, he's dangerous! You've seen his claws! Wolves eat meat!" now it was Twilight's turn, but it was met with the same results. "He's not dangerous Twilight! Neither of them are!" Fluttershy immediately went quiet as she realized she was yelling. "I mean... ummm..."

The girls looked between eachother as they realized she wasn't budging on the matter. "So you're determined not to move?" Twilight asked, prompting a nod from Fluttershy. They all breathed a defeated sigh, "Fluttershy, are you for sure these creatures are okay to keep in your house? Both of them are meat eaters and one could get big enough to swallow you." Twilight was still trying to figure out if her friend was safe.

"Well, you heard him call me mother, and I don't think he would eat his mom." they looked down to Slithe, who was once again resting soundly nestled into the embrace of the one he considered his mother.

"Well, give us a call if sometjing goes wrong, okay" Fluttershy just nodded her answer. "Alright then. Come on girls, let's give Fluttershy some space." and with one last look back, they each left the small cottage, Rainbow Dash giving a glare instead.


	5. Chapter 5

**Time Alone**

Fluttershy sighed with relief, thankful her friends hadn't tried anything that could hurt either Zeviathan or Slithe. She smiled at the sleeping form in her hooves before turning towards Zeviathan. "Zeviathan, you need to be more careful mister, you should still be resting." She scolded him, but more like the way a mother might scold her newborn foal for doing something improper.

She smiled at that, "A mother..." Her thoughts had started to drift like that ever since Slithe had hatched. She had raised and taken care of plenty of baby animals before, why was this so different?

"Sorry, but like I said, I was worried for your safety. When the blue one spoke threateningly towards you and challenged me, I acted." Zeviathan remained calm and collected the entire time, despite the obvious pain he must have felt in his paw. "But did you have to pounce on her?" Fluttershy asked. Zeviathan paused to consider this, "There... might, have been better ways. I apologize." he bowed his head for a brief moment. "But she deserved it."

He started to head back up the stairs when Fluttershy stopped him. "Zeviathan, if it's not too much to ask, could you, ummm... could you watch Slithe for me, please? I feel like I need to go and see if Rainbow Dash is okay." He merely looked at her with a tilted head. "You want me... to look after a snake? Why?" Fluttershy just rested Slithe on his back and gave him an imploring face, to which he relented to. " Very well, since I am indebted to you, I shall look after the serpent."

Fluttershy seemed to really perk up at that, "Oh thank so, so, so, so much! I'm sure he won't be any trouble at all, he really seemed to like you." This didn't appear to raise his mood, however. "Yes..." was all he said, turning to slowly sulk back upstairs as Fluttershy left the cottage with a spring in her step.

*POV Change*

'This is very inconvenient,' thought Zeviathan as he trudged into what was now his room. 'This creature is the one who caused that whole ordeal, and now I'm stuck keeping watch on it...' He slid Slithe off his back without a care, resulting in his awakening as he hit the floor with a thump. Slithe looked around, confused for a moment as to where he was, before settling his gaze on Zeviathan. Slithe cautiously slithered over and looked Zeviathan in the eyes, then curled up next to him with a blissful look on his face. 'Wonderful...' he thought as his annoyance with the creature continued to fester.

With a snort of frustration, Zeviathan shifted his position, moving away from Slithe and towards the center of the room. Slithe, momentarily confused as to why the wolf would move away, followed him, curling up beside him once again.

'This snake is trying my patience.' Growing more and more frustrated, Zeviathan made his way out of the room and down into the living room. He hadn't taken the time to observe his new home before and now was the perfect opportunity. The first thing he noticed was the sheer variety of color. Pinks, yellows, greens. Not only that, but they were so bright, so warm and inviting. This was in great contrast to the Everfree Forest where he'd spent all his life. The darkness that hung over the forest left one on edge, always fearing there was somepony-or something-else out there. Of course, that was a reasonable concern, what with the dangerous creatures that roamed there. Cockatrices, manticores, timber wolves…

'Would I be considered one of those dangers,' Zeviathan wondered to himself. He was reminded of the incident that took place not five minutes ago. Those other ponies, Fluttershy's friends, had all reacted poorly to his presence. 'They were afraid of me.' The idea made him frown. Sure he was a wolf, a swift predator of the forest, but he was much more than that. He was not defined merely by his nature.

Ever since he just a young pup, Zeviathan was different from other wolves. He had always known this. He did not always give into his primal nature, the desire to fight and kill just not as strong as it should be. He has always preferred avoiding conflict, believing it to be the best course of action.

A great example of this would be the spars held by his ex-pack. The youngest members of the pack were pitted against one another as a training exercise. These fights were observed by the eldest members to assess the skills of the pups-strength, agility, cunning, etc.

At first, Zeviathan had been eager to prove his worth, taking to the fights with glee. However, as he grew older, the thrill that had been there at the beginning was lost. He eventually stopped participating. This was met with great disapproval from not only his elders, but, much more importantly, his father.

Now that he thought about it, that was where things had begun to change. From that point on, Zeviathan became less and less like the others, developing into something entirely different. A unique wolf without equal. A predator who desired to do no unnecessary harm.

His thoughts drifted back to what had occurred with the other ponies in Fluttershy's home. He may have growled out in an attempt to intimidate, but he had never once had intentions to seriously harm them.

'Maybe if I just showed them that I wasn't a threat…'

Zeviathan quickly dismissed the idea. 'What's done is done.'

A flicker of movement in his peripheral vision caught Zeviathan's attention and disrupted his train of thought. Acting on instinct, he quickly swung his head towards the blur, eyes alert. He was surprised to see a squirrel scurrying across the floor before climbing up to the ceiling. Nearby, a robin was perched on one of many bird feeders that were hung up around the room. Zeviathan watched curiously as the bird ate, it's head bobbing up and down whenever it pecked at the seeds.

The entire room was full of animals! This came as quite the surprise to the wolf. 'How did I miss this!?' He was normally much more aware than this; such a high level of detection was necessary when living in a dangerous place like the Everfree. So how had he not noticed all these creatures before?

Zeviathan could only conclude that his attention had been diverted to more pressing matters, not the least of which was the incident with Fluttershy's friends.

'Seems I'm not as alert as I thought I was,' he thought dejectedly. 'I need to do better.'

As if to prove his point, he suddenly felt a gentle nudge against his leg. He turned his head and discovered the cause of the disturbance-Slithe. Said snake was rubbing his head against Zeviathan's rear leg in an almost loving manner.

This was unwelcome by the wolf as he trudged out the door and into the yard. Maybe he could escape Slithe if he went outside.

Zeviathan was pleased to see a bright, sunny day. The Everfree Forest didn't allow much sunlight to filter through, something Fluttershy's yard had plenty of. The heat of the sun's rays was a welcome feeling.

A cool breeze ruffled his fur as he as he paced around the yard. Zeviathan was quick to note that, as many animals that were residing inside Fluttershy's home, there were even more about the yard. While this made much more sense to him, he still wondered why they were here. He was also quick to note their behavior-it did not match that of similar animals he encountered in the Everfree on a daily basis.

'Curious,' the wolf thought to himself, 'these animals seem at ease with my appearance here, quite unlike the ones from the forest.' Indeed, their behavior was not one of usual fright at the appearance of a carnivorous predator but of calm serenity. 'This is quite strange.'

Redirecting his attention to his splinted leg, Zeviathan was reminded of his current state and thought it best to start exercising out his injured limb. For starters, he placed his paw onto the ground and began to apply pressure to see how much stress the weakened bone could take. He was pleased to note that it was healing much faster than he had hoped. 'I'd estimate that I can keep up a steady jog,' he mused to himself, 'though I'm nowhere near one hundred percent and it will be some time before I can run at full speed.'

Next, Zeviathan extended his leg out as far as possible in a stretch before bringing curling it back in towards his body. This was to test the amount of movement he could perform. He stopped midway through the action, grimacing as the pain hit him. Growling slightly, Zeviathan reverted his leg to a more comfortable position.

Feeling his primal anger surface, Zeviathan walked toward the nearby stream to cool off. At the edge of the water, he tentatively placed a paw in the water, gauging the temperature. Fairly cool, but not too cold. 'Perfect,' he thought to himself. Satisfied with the water, he waded into the stream. The water only reached to his belly so Zeviathan just stood there, letting the slow, steady current brush up against his fur. He closed his eyes in satisfaction.

Standing there gave the silver wolf time to reflect on these past few days. He had once again failed in a hunting assignment with the pack, prompting his ex-father's angry outburst and subsequent exile.

From there, he was found by Fluttershy who took him in and cared for him. Even now she continues to nurse him back to health at no expense of her own.

And then there was that moment where he had first 'spoken' with the yellow Pegasus.

'Why am I able to hear her thought's and her mine,' he questioned, still puzzled by the strange occurrence. This was all new to him and he had no idea how this could be possible. That moment when he had awoken and first met Fluttershy he had expressed his gratefulness, but he had done so silently and with a simple nod. But she had heard it! **She** had herd **his **Thoughts!

"But how?' Zeviathan continued his attempt to unravel the reason behind this. All the while, he was vaguely aware of the water splashing against him, the birds chirping in the trees, the whistle of the wind.

Zeviathan's eyes snapped as he recalled something from back then. He had pegged it as nothing more than residual pain from the injuries he had sustained to his head and ignored it. But now, the more that he thought about it, the more he was convinced that it had nothing to do with his injuries.

That something was a sensation he had experienced while he had been unconscious. At that time, he was stuck inside his own mind in the middle of the Everfree Forest. He was running from and unseen enemy, never looking back. Just as he had thought he would never escape the forest, he had seen a light up ahead and followed it out of the forest. At the end, the light had grew to blinding proportion and he could just make out the outline of a Pegasus. In that moment, Zeviathan had felt a slight pinprick of pain that lasted only a brief instant. Then he had awoken.

Following that, he had experienced a brief, tingling sensation in the back of his mind as he expressed his silent thanks to Fluttershy.

'That must have something to do with it,' Zeviathan noted. 'Those sensations must mean something.' He was even more intrigued than before. 'But how did that happen? I know we were exchanging thoughts between one another, and on multiple occasions, but how?' Zeviathan took a claming breath. 'Okay, okay…let's start from the begging. I had been unconscious and inside some kind of dream. I was attempting to escape but wasn't able to till I saw that light and then that silhouette of a pegasus…

'…Could that have been Fluttershy?' While he couldn't be certain, Zeviathan was strongly convinced that that was who it was. Then there was that flare of pain that occurred just before he woke up and the tingling sensation when he first met the pegasus mare.

'Both occurred when I was thinking of Fluttershy,' realized. 'She must be the key! There must be a connection between us,' he theorized. Eager to test his idea, Zeviathan blocked out all outside distractions and concentrated, withdrawing into his own mind. It was weak but there was definitely something there…a bridge that linked his mind to another. He could just barely tell that it was Fluttershy's mind that he was connected to.

'I guess distance affects the strength of the connection,' he thought, noting how faint the connection appeared.

He was once again snapped out of his own thoughts by something that brushed up against him. Zeviathan snapped his eyes open on impulse as the thing, whatever it was, climbed from his leg up onto his back before resting on his head. A white, leaf-shaped head drifted down into Zeviathan's visage. A pair of forest green eyes stared back at him.

Once again, it was Slithe. The friendly serpent smiled warmly at the wolf, completely oblivious to how much Zeviathan did not want him to be there. Said wolf merely shook his head, flinging Slithe into the water with a 'Plop!'

Once that was taken care of, Zeviathan waded out of the stream. He was soaking wet from the belly down. Deciding to dry out, he just curled up on a nearby hill to let the sun's rays dissipate the excess moisture.

The warmth of the sun and the serene nature of the moment proved extremely relaxing for the exiled wolf. His eyelids drooped as sleep threatened to overtake him. Before he could be drawn into the realm of dreams, Zeviathan carefully checked around for any signs of Slithe. That snake had already imposed upon him too many times.

When his gaze swept over the forest he could of sworn he saw a shadow dart through the trees. The form and size looked very familiar to him. He gazed out upon the forest a minute or two longer but saw nothing else. Ultimately, Zeviathan dismissed it as nothing to worry about. He went back to his primary search.

He double checked, tipple checked, and even quadruple checked. Satisfied that Slithe was nowhere to be seen, he finally succumbed to slumber's beckoning spell.

This lasted all of ten minutes before he was awoken by the motion of something curling up on his back. 'It's that snake again, I just know it.' Zeviathan's guess proved true. Slithe was indeed on top of his back, curling up into a comfortable position.

Zeviathan was _really _starting to get irritated now. Couldn't that snake see that he wished to be left alone. So why was it always following him?

Annoyed at having been awoken from his nap, Zeviathan rose up to his full height and loosed a threatening growl at the serpent situated on his back.

Slithe, realizing Zeviathan was now awake, craned his head so it was upside down and he could look Zeviathan in the eyes. Zeviathan was reaching his last nerve with this blasted snake. He shook himself violently and launched Slithe off into some tall grass, not even caring whether or not Slithe was okay.

Trying to clear his head again, Zeviathan went back to testing his movement capabilities. He was still unsatisfied with how far he could extend his splinted leg, but decided to try and keep in practice with his hunting skills. 'There's plenty of small animals' he thought, 'and their sense of security will make it easy.' Deciding to take it easy to start off with, Zeviathan chose to remain undetected by a group of squirrels nearby for as long as he could.

His gaze locked on the squirrels, he silently crept forward, making sure he was always as downwind as possible to keep his cover. 'A few more feet,' he kept thinking, 'just a few more feet...'

There was a slight rustle nearby, but he just chalked it up to the wind, too focused on this to mind it. Just as he took the last step he needed, a sleek white form shot up from the grass. Startled by the sudden appearance, Zeviathan let out a yelp and fell back in surprise, slightly twisting his injured paw. The creature that just gave him away to the group, who now seemed to be chittering at him, was none other than Slithe, yet again being the most loathsome creature he had ever met.

Anger flashed in his mind. 'This snake! It's done nothing but antagonize me this entire time! Can it not see I dislike it?!' His frustration had reached its max, first it had caused that whole scene in the cottage, then disturbed his sleep and concentration, and now finally keeping him from the basic training he needed! A wicked snarl finding its way onto his face, Zeviathan swatted Slithe away with his good paw, claws finding their small mark.

'At least I can still hit it...' he thought grimly, approaching the dazed Slithe. Remarkably, there was barely a scratch on him, just a small cut about half a centimeter in length. Zeviathan was slightly puzzled, he knew his claws had connected with the snake, so why was there so little damage?

Then he heard it... a small whining-hissing sound. Drawing his gaze up to Slithe's face, Zeviathan saw Slithe looking up at him, the eyes watery. 'Oh no...' was all that ran through his head.

*POV Change*

Slithe started to tear up, looking at the big creature in front of him. He didn't know what he did, he was just trying to stay with it. Slithe felt awful, he just wanted to play with him, he thought it was a game. The first time he had been knocked off or sent flying he contributed to being part of the game, but the last one obviously wasn't meant to be kind, his body even stung where he had been hit.

Slithe looked to the wound on his stomach, then back to the creature he heard called Zeviathan. Then he cried, tears falling to the ground and a sad frown replacing the happy smile he had earlier. Looking away, Slithe slithered away into the grass, tears falling as he tried to sniffle them away. He had just not wanted to be alone again...

*POV Change*

Zeviathan covered his face with a paw, 'Well at least it'll leave me alone now, it seems. That's good.' he sighed. He got what he had wanted, right? That snake Slithe was leaving him alone.

So why did he feel so bad? He went back to the hill and laid down under the warm sun. This time however, sleep didn't threaten to ensnare him, his conscience filled with guilt for what he did to Slithe. Sighing to himself, Zeviathan knew what he needed to do.

All but dragging himself up, he trudged after Slithe. Just because he knew what needed to be done didn't mean he has to like it. But what he failed to notice were the eyes drilling into him from not that far away, silently watching their prey.


End file.
